Don’t let anyone die waiting for a transplant

It is as universal as death and taxes — sort of. According to federal surveys, very nearly every American adult supports saving lives with donated organs. When it comes to actually saving lives, the outlook for the 116,000 people on organ waiting lists isn’t quite as black and white. Fewer than half of us have checked the box on our driver licenses, and even fewer have taken steps, such as talking to family members and lawyers, to make sure our desire to help gets carried out after we die.

The forecast is grim. While the number of people needing organ transplants has doubled in the past two decades, the number of transplant surgeries has ticked up only a few percentage points — because there are not enough donors. An American dies every 20 minutes awaiting a transplant.

It is, to be clear, slightly more complicated to be a donor than checking a box on a form.

Live donors face a number of obstacles, perhaps the most substantial of which is health insurance policies and practices that discourage giving away a kidney, for instance. Insurer’s concerns are real and are something that any donor, no matter how beneficent, should keep in mind. Any surgical procedure is potentially dangerous, and what seems like a redundant kidney today could be a life-threatening need in the donor’s future.

Post-mortem donation comes with no guarantees, either, even for individuals who have made all the proper arrangements. Less than 1 percent of people die in a way that allows for organ donation. But since four out of five donated organs come from deceased donors, if everyone signed up to donate, it could double or triple the odds of patients surviving their wait for a life-saving gift.

Why? Read Danielle Mitchell’s story on today’s front page. She is a bright young woman who is working to make a difference in her community. She’s working on a master’s degree in social work so that she can improve the prospects of other people facing the same health issues she has.

They say it is a shame to waste the gift of life that is an organ donation. It would also be a shame to waste the future, care and compassion of anyone like Danielle Mitchell.